Christmas with the Doctor
by MissTBuck
Summary: After months of traveling across the universe with the Doctor, it's time to come home and visit the family for Christmas...


"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!"

I turned and smiled. "Oh, hey. Just doing a little decorating." I held up the string of lights I was attempting to drape. "Want to help?"

He shook his head, obviously exasperated with my usual antics. "No, no, _no_. I did not give you permission to decorate my TARDIS!"

"Oh come on, Doctor," I pleaded. "It's Christmas!" I clutched the lights to my chest. "It's my favorite holiday. I love decorating for the holidays."

"Yeah, yeah." I saw the hint of a smile play on his lips, the way it always did when he gave in to my quirks. "Put down your décor for a moment, and come here, we need to chat." The Doctor turned and leaned over his controls, nodding me over.

I climbed down the stepstool I had found and joined him. "What's up Doc?" I asked in my best Bugs Bunny voice.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "That joke was cute the first five thousand times, but it's quickly driving me barmy." He cleared his throat. "Any road, I'm glad you brought up Christmas. That's exactly what I wanted to ask you about. Where shall we go?" He threw his arms up, gesturing to the TARDIS as a whole. "Any when and where you'd like."

"Actually, Doctor…" I bit my lip, suppressing a grin. "I was wondering if maybe we could go visit my family for Christmas."

"Your family?"

I nodded excitedly. "Yeah. I mean, I haven't been home in a while and really miss them. Especially my parents."

"Well I do like your folks. Your mum's actually nice to me," the Doctor mumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets and spun around, leaning on his controls. "But really? You want to go see your family?" He sighed. "There are so many other options."

"Oh yeah?" I folded my arms across my chest and shouldered him playfully. "Such as?"

The Doctor shrugged and took a deep breath. "Well let's see here. We could go see _The Nutcracker Suite_ in St. Petersburg in 1892. Or go to 1930s New York and watch the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall. Or!" He jumped excitedly. "We could go to first century Bethlehem and witness the birth of Christ! Oh come on, I know you'll love that," he insisted.

I shook my head. "I want to go home."

"Hey, we don't even have to stay on Earth," he continued on, as if I hadn't spoken. "Want to go to another galaxy? Just point in a direction and we are there."

"Doctor." I stationed myself in front of him and placed my hands on his shoulders. "I really want to see my family. I want to sit in my grandma's living room with my aunts and uncles and cousins and open gifts. I want my grandpa to put on the Santa suit and give gifts to all the grandkids. I want to bake on Christmas Eve with my mother. Please, Doctor."

"Would that really make you happy?"

"Yes."

"And you'll stop with this 'Oh I miss my family' rubbish?"

I laughed and shoved him. "Yes!"

A smile escaped as he poked me on the nose. "Then I guess I'm taking you home for Christmas."

"You're home!" My mom ran out the door and through the backyard towards the TARDIS. She threw her arms around me as the Doctor closed the door behind us. "Oh, I've missed you."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her back. "I missed you too. And I have so much to tell you. Is Dad inside?"

Mom nodded as we headed towards the house, the Doctor silently following us. "We just had dinner. I was doing dishes when I heard the TARDIS and I came running out. Your dad's warming up some coffee right now." She glanced back at the Doctor as we walked through the back door. "Or would you prefer some tea, Harry Potter?"

"Whatever you've got is fine ma'am," the Doctor said with a chuckle. "Well hello there sir!" He smiled as he shook my father's hand. "Brought your daughter back in one piece, just as you requested."

My dad laughed and pulled me into his arms. "Thank you Doctor. You two chose a perfect time to visit, tomorrow's Christmas Eve."

The Doctor nodded as we all took seats around the kitchen table, cups of coffee already waiting for us. "That's why we're here. This one here threw a wobbler insisting to come home for Christmas," he said.

"A wobbler?" My mom stared at him curiously.

"It means a tantrum," I explained.

"Prince William here's teaching you some British slang, huh kiddo?" my dad teased.

I nodded. "And for the record, I did not throw a tantrum," I said, shooting a dirty look at the Doctor. "William's exaggerating."

The Doctor stared at me in disbelief. "William? Really? You people really think I look like Prince William? I think I'm a bit more ruggedly handsome than that balding Disney prince, even you Americans must be able to see that. Any road, what do you people do for Christmas?"

"Well, we're going to bake tomorrow, then go to my mom's house to open gifts with the family, and on Christmas morning we'll open presents here, just us," my mom said. "And Doctor, you're very welcome to join us for all of it. We even bought you a couple presents just in case you two decided to come here for Christmas."

"That's very kind of you," the Doctor said, a genuine smile stretching across his face. "So, er, what time do I have to be up to bake tomorrow…?"

My dad smirked. "You don't have to bake. There's a football game on TV, you can watch it with me if you'd like."

The Doctor nodded, fascinated. "Football. The 2022 World Cup, that's going to be a hell of a game, I'll tell you that."

"Oh. No," my dad said laughing. "_American_ football, Doctor. With touchdowns and tackling," he added upon seeing the Doctor's confused expression. "I'll explain it to you later."

"It's very manly," I insisted with a smirk. "Oh hey Mom, is my movie on tonight?"

My mom nodded and glanced at the clock. "It should be starting right about now. Should we watch it?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!" I stood up and grabbed my coffee cup. "Living room. Now. Let's go. You too, Doctor!"

"What're you on about?" the Doctor asked as he followed me into the living room. "You're doing that thing where you're acting as if you're five and someone gave you too many sweets. Last time you did this, I promised to take you to the 1950s for a sock hop."

"Which you still haven't done," I pointed out as we sat on the couch.

"I'll take you after we finish with Christmas," he promised as my dad turned on the TV. "Now then, what's on the telly?"

"_It's a Wonderful Life_," my mom and I answered in unison.

"The Christmas movie?" he asked, giving me the 'Are you kidding me?' face I was quickly growing used to.

"The Christmas _classic_," I corrected with a smile. "It's my favorite. I love an underdog story and it's heartwarming and James Stewart is just fantastic."

The Doctor smirked and settled into the couch as the movie began. "He's fantastic eh?"

My mom smiled as she spread a blanket over her legs. "Doctor, have you never seen this movie?"

"Never," he admitted, shrugging. "Am I missing something?"

"Only the most romantic moment in any movie, ever," I told him. "I absolutely swoon every time. You'll see," I insisted.

"Can't wait," the Doctor teased. "Now hush up and watch your movie."

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down," James Stewart rambled on-screen.

I sighed and leaned on the Doctor. "Isn't that beautiful?" I breathed.

"…Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see... and the moon beams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair… am I talking too much?"

The Doctor frowned. "I don't believe that man has any knowledge of basic astronomy," he mumbled.

"He's in love," I snapped.

"So that's it? That's your favorite scene in the film?" the Doctor asked me. "A man saying he's going to pull a rock out of Earth's orbit and make a gift of it? Even though it's one hundred percent impossible?"

I groaned. "You don't get it. He's saying he loves her so much he'd do anything for her, even the impossible."

"If you insist," the Doctor said with a shrug.

"Yes. I insist."

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably in the backseat, a pile of presents separating us. "Are you sure it's alright that I come? I don't want to intrude on your family time. I mean, it's Christmas, after all. Holly jolly, peace on Earth, whatnot."

"It's fine," I assured him. "And I promise it won't be like the last time you saw them."  
My mom laughed. "Yeah, it will be a lot less difficult this time. No explaining to Grandma and Grandpa that their granddaughter is taking a break from college to travel the universe with an alien in a British police box."

"Good God, that was all sixes and sevens," the Doctor muttered with a laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair. He grinned at my parents' bewildered expressions. "Chaotic," he explained. "Honestly, I ought to get you pair a dictionary of British slang. It'll really come in handy I bet."

As we arrived at my grandparents' house, I breathed a sigh of pure happiness. Although I was truly enjoying my time with the Doctor, and appreciated the beautiful experiences I was gaining through our travels, it felt indescribably amazing to be home on Christmas Eve with my family once again. The Doctor, arms loaded with gifts, looked down at me with a bemused expression crossing his handsome face.

"That look. What's with that look?"

I smiled. "What do you mean Doctor?"

"It's that same look you had when we met Jane Austen or when we visited that planet of clear pink ice. You look so amazed and speechless." A soft smile appeared on his lips. "It's probably my favorite of all the faces you make."

"Even more than this one?" I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue, creating a goofy and unattractive expression.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh put a sock in it. Here I am paying you a compliment, being kind and such because it's Christmas, and you just go and act like a dork. See if I'm ever all warm and fuzzy again, eh?"

As we entered the house, my cousins scurried over, relieving the Doctor of the gifts in his arms and carrying them to the tree. Suddenly, the living room roared with greetings, and I was ambushed with hugs and kisses and questions from my aunts and uncles. Wiggling from the grasp of one particularly excited aunt, I found my grandmother in the kitchen, making hot chocolate in a large pot.

"Excuse me ma'am, are you aware that there's an alien in your living room?"

When my grandma looked up from the stove, her eyes were huge. "You're home," she whispered, as if she couldn't believe it. As she wrapped her arms around me, I found myself breathing in the familiar comforting scent of her old apron. "Your grandfather should be in the living room now. He'll be so excited to see you."

I slowly walked to the living room and saw my grandfather sitting on the couch, warily watching the Doctor, who was sprawled on the floor with one of my younger cousins, showing the child his sonic screwdriver.

"Merry Christmas Grandpa," I said, sitting on the couch next to him. "Miss me?"

Suddenly, his expression brightened. "Of course I did." He hugged me tight, and I immediately felt at home in his strong arms. "Let me look at you." He held me at arm's length and studied my face. "You've been enjoying yourself. I can see it in your face. You're simply radiant." He eyed the Doctor. "Has he been showing you a lot?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "You wouldn't believe the things I've seen and done! I've stood on a planet made almost entirely of volcanoes. I've watched Leonardo da Vinci paint. I've met alien kings and talked philosophy with them. Grandpa, I've helped the Doctor save entire planets!"

"And you're happy with him?" I could see the concern on his face, the worry that was always there when my well-being was involved.

"Very," I assured him. "He's been teaching me a lot and shown me things I could never have even imagined. And he has the biggest hearts in the universe. He is so inspiring and goes above and beyond for others. You'd really like him if you got to know him."

My grandpa kissed the top of my head. "He brought you back safe and sound, and you're happy. That's all I ask. Now, go join your cousins, I want to see you all open your gifts."

"Your family sure got you a lot," the Doctor observed as we sat among the discarded wrapping paper and empty boxes. My family was spread throughout the house, the adults in the kitchen playing cards, the children playing with their new toys, and the youngest cousins falling asleep on the couches.

I shrugged. "They're pretty generous. And I like what my grandparents got you."

He held up the wool sweater my grandmother had presented him with. "Yes, it is rather lovely, isn't it? I think I should wear it tomorrow to Christmas dinner."

"So you're coming to Christmas dinner with us?" I didn't bother hiding the joy in my voice.

"I think so," the Doctor said with a nod. "Oh, and I have something you could wear tomorrow." He pulled a small blue box, topped with a silver bow, out of his pocket and held it out to me. "Merry Christmas."

"Doctor, you didn't need to give me anything," I sputtered. "I mean, you've done so much for me already and-"

He groaned and shoved the present into my hands. "Just open the blasted thing. Honestly, you are the most incredibly difficult person I have ever known- and I've been around for centuries!"

Smiling, I opened the box and peeked inside; lying on a bed of tissue paper was a small gray rock attached to a silver chain. I looked up at the Doctor curiously, waiting for his explanation.

"'You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down,'" he whispered with a proud grin.

My heart hammered as color flooded to my face. "Oh Doctor, you didn't."

"Funny thing about the moon is it's impossible to lasso," he said nonchalantly. "So instead I just went there while you were asleep and picked up a nice rock, hope that's alright. It's the thought that counts, you know."

I blinked back the tears that were threatening to flow. "And a very nice thought it is. Now I feel bad that all I got you was those American flag socks."

"Ah, but I love them, wearing 'em already, see?" He lifted his pant leg to reveal the red, white and blue socks I'd purchased as a joke. "Besides, you don't need to get me anything. You take away my day-to-day loneliness with your friendship. Nothing could be better than that."

"No?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Nope."

I leaned in close. "So this isn't a little bit better?" I planted a light kiss on his soft lips, feeling him pull back at first, but then lean forward to kiss me in return. Although it lasted only a quick moment in real time, to me it felt like lifetimes had passed before we pulled apart.

"Alright, so that was a bit better," the Doctor said with a laugh as he pulled the moon rock out of its box. "Here, allow me." He clasped the chain around my neck and studied me. "Yes, I do think it looks quite lovely on you. I have good taste in space rocks."

The moon rock felt cool on my skin and I patted it lovingly. "Thank you, Doctor."

He hugged me close and planted a kiss on my forehead. "No, thank you."

"For?"

"For being someone I would lasso the moon for."


End file.
